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One of the major challenges in deep space exploration are effects of cosmic rays on human body and soft error, but equally important are their effects on food resources. In this study, we focused on neutrons as the secondary particle in the deep space environment and investigated how they affect food resources. Fast neutron was irradiated by the RIKEN Accelerator-driven compact Neutron Source (RANS) on meat sample. Biochemical analysis was conducted to present concrete effects of cosmic rays on food in deep space environment. Oxidative and nitrative modifications of proteins were detected by the electrophoresis and Western blotting. The result shows that nitrative modification of tryptophan, which is an essential amino acid in protein, tended to increase with increasing neutron dose. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objectives: The efficacy of radiotherapy for breast cancer has greatly improved owing to better irradiation methods. Radiotherapy aims to deliver therapeutic doses to predetermined target volumes while sparing surrounding healthy tissues. However, there are few reports on radiation exposure to eye lenses, and the recommended exposure limits to ocular lens have been substantially reduced in recent years. This study aimed to investigate the amount of radiation exposure to eye lenses using optically stimulated luminescence dosimeters (OSLDs) and determine whether wearing special protective devices to protect the eyes, as an organ at risk, during whole breast irradiation, is necessary. Methods: This experiment used OSLDs on water‐equivalent phantom to measure the change in scattered radiation dose due to the difference of irradiation field while using 4‐ and 6‐MV photons of TrueBeam linear accelerator. Using a total treatment dose of 50 Gy, a target was positioned to approximate the breast, and a plan was formulated to deliver 2 Gy per treatment by tangential irradiation. The mean (SD) irradiation dose at the lens position outside the irradiation field was reported. Results: The scattered radiation dose outside the irradiation field was more affected by the irradiation field size than by the radiation energy. The out‐of‐field irradiation dose with a larger field of view was higher than that with a smaller field of view. The use of 0.07‐ and 0.83‐mm‐thick lead shield protective glasses reduced the radiation dose by 56.1% (P <.001) and 55.6% (P <.001), respectively. Conclusions: In this experimental model, the amount of radiation the eye was exposed to during whole breast irradiation was determined by the distance of the eye from the radiation field edge and by wearing protective glasses. In clinical practice, the protection offered by eyeglasses may reduce the risk of long‐term side effects and allow the use of higher intensive radiotherapy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aim: Late adverse effects following radiation therapy for prostate cancer involve the urinary and lower gastrointestinal tracts, with continuous rectal bleeding being the most serious issue. We focused on late adverse effects, particularly rectal bleeding after volumetric-modulated arc therapy (VMAT), for patients with locally advanced prostate cancer. Materials and Methods: Seventy-three patients with localized prostate cancer were treated with radiation therapy using VMAT with an image-guided radiation therapy system. Patient age at the start of irradiation ranged from 54 to 81 years (median, 71 years). The follow-up period ranged from 23 to 87 months (median, 57 months). The prescribed total irradiation dose was 76 Gy in 38 fractions. Results: Late rectal bleeding was observed in 14 (19%) patients, with nine (12.3%), four (5.5%), and one (1.4%) being classified as grades 1, 2, and 3, respectively. One grade 3 patient with rectal bleeding had severe diabetes and was administered intravenous warfarin for cardiomyopathy. Findings: VMAT may provide better accuracy and involve fewer time constraints for patients compared with other intensity-modulated radiation therapy (IMRT) methods. The incidence of late rectal bleeding in VMAT is almost equivalent to that of other IMRT methods. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The purpose of this study was to quantify actual patient organ doses from megavoltage computed tomography (MVCT) using an MVCT beam model of a helical tomotherapy unit in a general treatment planning system (TPS). Dosimetric parameters (percentage depth dose, lateral beam profile, and longitudinal beam profile) of the MVCT beam were measured using Gafchromic EBT3 films (ISP Corporation, Wayne, NJ, USA) and used for beam modeling in a Pinnacle3 TPS (Philips, Amsterdam, Netherlands); this TPS is widely used with linear accelerators. The created beam model was adjusted and validated by assessing point doses in a cylindrical phantom in static and helical beam plans with fine, normal and coarse pitches. Maximum doses delivered to important organs from MVCT delivery for five clinical cases were calculated using the created beam model. The difference (average ± one standard deviation for all evaluation points) between calculated and measured doses was −0.69 ± 1.20% in the static beam plan. In the helical beam plan, the differences were 1.83 ± 2.65%, 1.35 ± 5.94% and −0.66 ± 8.48% for fine, normal and coarse pitches, respectively. The average maximum additional dose to important organs from MVCT in clinical cases was 0.82% of the prescribed dose. In conclusion, we investigated a method for quantifying patient organ dose from MVCT delivery on helical tomotherapy using an MVCT beam model in a general TPS. This technique enables estimation of the patient-specific organ dose from MVCT delivery, without the need for additional equipment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: The 3α-cluster structure of excited states in 12C is investigated by taking into account the correct boundary condition for three-body resonant states. In this study, we adopt the Complex Scaling Method (CSM), which enables us to obtain the resonant states that can be described as square integrable states with the same boundary conditions as those of the bound states, and calculate not only resonance energies but also the total decay widths of the 3α system. We compare the calculated resonance parameters to the experimental data and also to the previous 3α model results obtained with a bound state approximation. Our results well explain the many observed levels and give an assurance for the presence of the second state, which is expected by the 3α model calculations with the approximations of bound state or two-body scattering. As for the negative-parity states, it is considered that the calculated state is assigned to the observed state. Through the calculation of channel amplitudes, the obtained third state is found to have a s-wave dominant and a more dilute structure compared to the second state. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

We investigate the three-body Coulomb breakup reaction of two-neutron halo nuclei [sup 11]Li, where we adopt the extended three-body model of [sup 11]Li with paying attention to the pairing correlation of the nuclei, and also employ the complex scaling method (CSM) to solve the three-body unbound states of [sup 11]Li. From the results, we cannot find any dipole resonances, at least, having small decay widths. This means that the breakup strength is exhausted by the continuum states. We compare the obtained strength showing the low energy enhancement to the several experimental data. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: To investigate the impact of setup and range uncertainties, breathing motion, and interplay effects using scanning pencil beams in robustly optimized intensity modulated proton therapy (IMPT) for stage III non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC).Methods and Materials: Three-field IMPT plans were created using a minimax robust optimization technique for 10 NSCLC patients. The plans accounted for 5- or 7-mm setup errors with ±3% range uncertainties. The robustness of the IMPT nominal plans was evaluated considering (1) isotropic 5-mm setup errors with ±3% range uncertainties; (2) breathing motion; (3) interplay effects; and (4) a combination of items 1 and 2. The plans were calculated using 4-dimensional and average intensity projection computed tomography images. The target coverage (TC, volume receiving 95% of prescribed dose) and homogeneity index (D2 - D98, where D2 and D98 are the least doses received by 2% and 98% of the volume) for the internal clinical target volume, and dose indexes for lung, esophagus, heart and spinal cord were compared with that of clinical volumetric modulated arc therapy plans.Results: The TC and homogeneity index for all plans were within clinical limits when considering the breathing motion and interplay effects independently. The setup and range uncertainties had a larger effect when considering their combined effect. The TC decreased to <98% (clinical threshold) in 3 of 10 patients for robust 5-mm evaluations. However, the TC remained >98% for robust 7-mm evaluations for all patients. The organ at risk dose parameters did not significantly vary between the respective robust 5-mm and robust 7-mm evaluations for the 4 error types. Compared with the volumetric modulated arc therapy plans, the IMPT plans showed better target homogeneity and mean lung and heart dose parameters reduced by about 40% and 60%, respectively.Conclusions: In robustly optimized IMPT for stage III NSCLC, the setup and range uncertainties, breathing motion, and interplay effects have limited impact on target coverage, dose homogeneity, and organ-at-risk dose parameters. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objectives: To develop a method for detecting jaw positions during jaw-tracking delivery to ensure an accurate delivery of radiation to patients using an electronic portal imaging device (EPID) in the cine mode on a linear accelerator for radiotherapy., Materials: A bidirectional picket fence (BPF) plan was used in a novel application to detect jaw positions during jaw-tracking delivery. In the BPF plan, jaws tracked multileaf collimator (MLC) apertures. The irradiated patterns were acquired by an EPID in the cine mode., Methods: The upper- and lower-half leaves in the MLC moved in opposite directions to facilitate detection of jaw positions on EPID images. A picket-fence-like image was created by summing all acquired cine images and evaluated to detect MLC leaf positions., Results: Jaw positions determined on the cine images were compared with those expected from the delivered BPF plan. The absolute differences (average ± 1 standard deviation) were 0.16 ± 0.19 mm for the X1 jaw and 0.11 ± 0.16 mm for the X2 jaw. The maximum error in the MLC leaf positions detected in the picket-fence-like pattern were 0.11 mm., Conclusions: Jaw positions during jaw-tracking delivery were identified using the cine EPID images and could be determined within an accuracy better than 0.5 mm. The BPF plan is also available as a picket fence test and can determine the MLC leaf positions to an accuracy better than 0.5 mm., Competing Interests: The authors declare that there are no conflicts of interest., (© 2022 The Juntendo Medical Society.)

Objectives: In radiation therapy, the field-in-field (FIF) technique is used to prevent the administration of unnecessarily high doses to reduce toxicity. Recently, the FIF technique has been used for whole brain irradiation (WBI). Using the FIF technique, the volume that receives a higher than prescribed dose (hotspot) can be largely reduced; however, the treatment planning requires time. Therefore, to reduce the burden on the treatment planners, we propose a semiautomatic treatment planning method for the FIF technique., Methods: In the semiautomatic FIF technique, hotspot regions in a treatment plan without the FIF technique are identified three-dimensionally, and beams with blocks that cover the hotspot regions using a multileaf collimator (sub-beams) are automatically created. The sub-beams are added to the original plan, and weights are assigned based on the maximum dose of the original plan to decrease the doses in the hotspot regions. This method was applied to 22 patients previously treated with WBI, wherein treatment plans were originally created without the FIF technique., Results: In the semiautomatic FIF plans, the hotspots almost disappeared. The dose to 95% of the volume and the volume receiving at least 95% of the prescribed dose in the planning target volume decreased by only 0.3% ± 0.2% and 0.0% ± 0.1%, respectively, on average compared with those in the original plan. The average semiautomatic FIF processing time was 28 ± 4 s., Conclusions: The proposed method reduced the hotspot regions with a slight change in the target coverage., Competing Interests: There are no conflicts of interest in relation to this study., (© 2022 The Juntendo Medical Society.)

To realize the high precision radiotherapy, localized radiation field of the moving target is very important, and visualization of a temporal location of the target can help to improve the accuracy of the target localization. However, conditions of the breathing and the patient's own motion differ from the situation of the treatment planning. Therefore, positions of the tumor are affected by these changes. In this study, we implemented a method to reconstruct target motions obtained with the 4D CBCT using the sorted projection data according to the phase and displacement of the extracorporeal infrared monitor signal, and evaluated the proposed method with a moving phantom. In this method, motion cycles and positions of the marker were sorted to reconstruct the image, and evaluated the image quality affected by changes in the cycle, phase, and positions of the marker. As a result, we realized the visualization of the moving target using the sorted projection data according to the infrared monitor signal. This method was based on the projection binning, in which the signal of the infrared monitor was surrogate of the tumor motion. Thus, further major efforts are needed to ensure the accuracy of the infrared monitor signal.

To evaluate the dosimetric impact of respiratory breast motion and daily setup error on whole breast irradiation (WBI) using three irradiation techniques; conventional wedge (CW), field-in-field (FIF) and irregular surface compensator (ISC). WBI was planned for 16 breast cancer patients. The dose indices for evaluated clinical target volume (CTV(evl)), lung, and body were evaluated. For the anterior-posterior (AP) respiratory motion and setup error of a single fraction, the isocenter was moved according to a sine function, and the dose indices were averaged over one period. Furthermore, the dose indices were weighted according to setup error frequencies that have a normal distribution to model systematic and random setup error for the entire treatment course. In all irradiation techniques, AP movement has a significant impact on dose distribution. CTV(evl)D(95) (the minimum relative dose that covers 95 % volume) and V(95) (the relative volume receiving 95 % of the prescribed dose) were observed to significantly decrease from the original ISC plan when simulated for the entire treatment course. In contrast, the D(95), V(95) and dose homogeneity index did not significantly differ from those of the original plans for FIF and CW. With regard to lung dose, the effect of motion was very similar among all three techniques. The dosimetric impact of AP respiratory breast motion and setup error was largest for the ISC technique, and the second greatest effect was observed with the FIF technique. However, these variations are relatively small.

Radiotherapy has been widely used in breast cancer in many situations. These are breast irradiation of breast conserving therapy,post mastectomy regional irradiation,irradiation for regional lymph nodes recurrence,breast irradiation of inoperable locally advanced cases,palliative irradiation of brain metastasis,bone metastasis and so on. The relationship among radiotherapy,surgery and systemic therapy has to be considered in those situations. In breast conserving therapy, the usefulness of breast irradiation is well established. Otherwise, a local controllability depend on a grade of residual tumor cell has not been understand. The authors conducted the survey of 941 cases of positive surgical margins and found that doses more than 60 Gy has a tendency for better local control in post menopausal cases. To reduce patient's burden,3 weeks short course irradiation (Canadian protocol) or accelerated partial breast irradiation have been introduced in breast irradiation. A subgroup which has no need to irradiate to conserving breast had not been identified. The timing between postoperative chemotherapy and irradiation is another point that has to be considered. To reduce distant metastasis,chemotherapy first has been considered better. As for post mastectomy regional irradiation, improvement of local and systemic control has been widely known these days. A timing of systemic therapy and irradiation is a point has to consider. In inoperable or far advanced T 4 tumors, breast irradiation with concurrent chemotherapy must be considered in stead of surgery. We have to know a big shortage in Japanese cancer treatment situation that we have few radiation oncologists or medical physicists in Japan. We have to educate those specialists to catch up with increasing cancer patients.